Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1887-02-04
FIRST BATTLE OF BULL RUN.
A Michigan Volunteer Tells the Story o.

Michigan Volunteer Tells the Story OF
the Famous Panic and Stampede.
The attempt to stop the retreat &C.
CURED at causeway about two miles
north Of Centreville. had been sent as
a courier from Blackburn ford to Centre
vile, and the panic swept me along with
the rest. was only kid of boy, 10
years old, and a bandmaster, who wanted
to reach Washington sooner than any
one else, pulled me off my horse and left
me to plod my way on foot. AT least
5000 panicstricken soldiers had passed
along ahead of me.
We were in horrible confusion, some
mounted, some afoot, and ambulances,
baggage wagons, army teams and pri-
vate carriages pushing along as fast as
possible, when jumped into an army
wagon to which was attached four
horses The driver was in his saddle on
the nigh wheel horse, and seemed to he
taking the matter very coolly, but 1 had
scarcely got into the vehicle when there
was a shout of "rebel cavalry!' all along
the road, and the teamster was hard
struck by it. He got down and began to
cut one of the leaders loose, and l got
down and took the other, leaving the
wagon and the wheel horses at the side
of the road. I stripped off everything
but the bride, and had scarcely mounted
when corporal handed me up two large
cans of chicken, which had come from a
wagon filled with hospital stores. AS
had can under each arm, l could not
guide the horse, but he trotted along in
the crowd for half mile until, as we
InI 7 e
causeway, a carriage turned around
across the road and six or eight men in
line in front of the carriage. Not catch
ing on to what was up, and still holding
to the cans, my horse kept his place until
Zach Chandler seized him by the bits and
called out to me:
Young man, take that horse back
over the hill; he belongs to the govern
ment.'
| saw guns in the hands of the citizens,
heard them shouting and swearing at the
soldiers, and then let fall the cans and
turned the horse around. l had not gone
200 feet when there was great shout,
and | looked around to see the valiant
congressman driving north at full speed.
Their effort to stop the retreat didn' last
five minutes. As they sprang into their
carriage the soldiers seized the wheels to
hold them, and two or three attempted to
secure free ride. The New jersey regi-
ment occupied the causeway, but opened
ranks to let the tide through, and many
of the men flung down their muskets and
joined in the flight.
On three different occasions after 1862
l met Mr.. Chandler. and recalled the in
cident. and he agreed with me in every
detail. The man who accidently shot
Maj. Eaton was the teamster who had
given me one of his horses. We rode the
pair through to Washington side by side
One who remembers that panic will
laugh at the idea of five or six citizens
seeking to check it. Had there been 6
brigade of troops across the highway il
could not have held the frightened tide
five minutes. Had Chandler, Wade and
their crowd delayed another minute they
would have been tramped into the earth
Every man felt that he was being pur
sued for his life, and when commissioned
officers were tearing off their insignia o.
rank, flingng away their side arms anC
warning all around them to hurry, wha
could be expected of the private soldier
l am sorry that Ben Wade didn't cut
heroic figure at that causeway to maxi
up for the slip three or four miles ava,
earlier in the day, AS 1 rode a short Gu
to find my regiment, solid shot passe(
near me, smashed an ambulance and tor
the splnters from beach tree. Bull
Run Russell, Wade, Chandler and othe
civilians were just beyond, and the wa,
they got up and left that section of Vir
ginia was laughable to see. l got fou
or five pages of Russell's manuscript,
cane belonging to some congressman an,
could have gathered up two or three plus
hats and a museum of TASKS and luncheon
baskets.
The congressional crowd went out t,
see the Confederates get licked. Whel
they found that the boot was on the othe
foot every man of 'em was as PAM,
stricken as the youngest soldier, and in
stead of playing the heroic, except in tn,
one instance mentioned, they were wish
ing for wings to fly to Washington.
volunteer, First Michigan Infantry il
New York Sum-